This summer the Upstate New York Poison Center transitioned to a new Clinical Director after Christine Stork, PharmD, BSPharm, MPH, DABAT, FAACT, branched off in a new direction. While Dr. Stork left her role of 28 years, she didn’t go far. She is still at the poison center as a toxicologist and leading the Clinical Toxicology Rotation at Upstate Medical University and the more than 70 learners who come through our poison center each year. She also started a new role at Upstate Medical University as a Co-Pharmacology Thread Leader at the Norton College of Medicine and remains a faculty member ..read more

Submitted by: Zach Schmitz, MD, Mary Ann Howland, PharmD, Mark K Su, MD, MPH (Case presented during the December 2021 NYC PCC’s Consultants’ Conference) Case Presentation Three children (a seven-year-old male, a four-year-old male, and a 15-month-old male) presented to the Emergency Department four hours after a suspected exposure to methanol-containing windshield washer fluid. The seven-year-old child had a known history of developmental and speech delay, but all children were otherwise healthy. The children’s mother was working on the car and left out a bottle with an unknown (but small ..read more

Submitted by: Brian Wiener, MD, Mary Ann Howland, PharmD, Mark K Su, MD, MPH (Case Presented at August 2021 NYC PCC Consultants’ Conference) Case Presentation History of Present Illness A 38-year-old woman with a past medical history of opioid use disorder presents to the emergency department (ED) after being “found down” by EMS. She admitted to insufflating an unknown opioid the prior evening. The next morning, she was found down and looked blue. She was given intranasal naloxone and returned to her baseline mental status, but immediately complaine ..read more

While the Upstate New York Poison Center is pleased to see the distribution of at-home Covid-19 test kits through local school districts and free distribution across the country through the United States Postal Service, the poison center reminds everyone to remember to use proper safety techniques when using these new kits. There are a number of different at-home Covid-19 test kits available. Each kit includes potentially dangerous compounds in the small liquid bottles inside the packaging. That liquid is used to create the chemical reaction necessary to produce a ..read more

Submitted by: Sarah Mahonski, MD; Andres Mallipudi, MD; Mary Ann Howland, PharmD, Mark K. Su, MD, MPH (Case presented during July 2021 NYC PCC Consultants’ Conference) Case Presentation A 76-year-old woman with a past medical history of Sjögren’s Syndrome, atrial fibrillation, and ulcerative colitis presents to the emergency department (ED) with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. Her initial vital signs are: BP, 135/85 mm Hg, HR, 76 beats/min; RR 18 breaths/min, T, 36 degrees C; O2 Sat, 96% on room air. Her physical examination is notable for abdominal tenderness. In the ED, s ..read more

Submitted by: Sanjay Mohan, MD, Mary Ann Howland, PharmD, Mark K. Su, MD, MPH (Case Presented during May 2021 NYC PCC Consultants’ Conference) Case Presentation History of Present Illness: A 16-month-old, 14kg child with no known significant past medical history presents to the ED for cough, lethargy and decreased appetite. The child was found with a bottle of lamp oil in hand and witnessed by care providers to ingest approximately “one sip” nine hours earlier. The child was initially asymptomatic but approximately five hours after the ingestion, the patient was noted to be warm to touch ..read more

Submitted by: Emma Furlano, MD, Mary Ann Howland, PharmD, Mark K Su, MD, MPH (Case Presented at March 2021 NYC PCC Consultants’ Conference) Case Presentation History of Present Illness:  A “middle-aged” male patient with no known significant past medical history presents to the ED complaining of palpitations after using an illicit substance. He is admitted to the hospital for persistent altered mental status and elevated serum troponin (i.e., NSTEMI). Three days after hospital admission, he is noted to have a flat affect along with increased tone; a medical toxicology consultation is requ ..read more

  Submitted by: Joshua Trebach MD, David S. Goldfarb MD, Mark K. Su MD MPH (Case presented during January 2020 NYC PCC Consultants’ Conference) Case Presentation History of Present Illness: A 55-year-old-man with a past medical history of chronic kidney disease stage 4 is administered intravenous gadobutrol (Gadavist®), a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), for an outpatient MRI procedure. After realizing that the patient was given the GBCA and noting the patient’s medical history, the radiologist, in conjunction with the patient’s nephrologist, sent the patient to the ED fo ..read more

Submitted by: Sanjay Mohan, MD, Mary Ann Howland, PharmD, Mark K. Su, MD, MPH (Case Presented during November 2020 NYC PCC Consultants’ Conference) NB: Some patient information below has been altered (or not included) for the purpose of patient privacy protection. Case Presentation History of Present Illness: An adolescent male with a history of major depression, presents to the ED after being found unresponsive at home. According to a family member, the patient was in his usual state of good health the previous night. Past Medical History: None Medications: Non-contributory Social History: N ..read more

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